Christmastime is Here
by glassfacet
Summary: Part of the Triviaglass Avengerverse. What the winter holidays mean to various members of the Avengers family.
1. Loki

Loki

Loki wakes early on Midwinter morning. He is hungover from last night's feasting, but if he doesn't leave now, he will be missed tonight and that would be disastrous. He collects the parcels that sit in the corner of his bedroom and places them in a bag. His home is undecorated for the holiday, but then, there is no one here whom he celebrates with. He takes his hoverboat and slips through one of his many wormholes.

His first stop is Sigyn and Vali's prison. Because of Lady Skadi, Loki's magical rival, Vali is trapped in the form of a wolf for the rest of his life. Vali cannot remember killing his twin; Loki and Sigyn grieve for their sons still. When Loki arrives, he kisses Sigyn hello and changes into a wolf himself. He roughhouses with Vali across the grass for a while before giving Vali his gift: an obstacle course that Loki has designed for him. Vali happily goes to play in it. Loki and Sigyn go back to her bedroom where they make love for hours. Time and intimacy are his gift to her.

Fenrir is Loki's next stop. The born wolf has human intelligence and greater refinement that the Aesir could have anticipated when they imprisoned him. Loki talks to his son the wolf, sharing news and ideas. Chains prevent Fenrir from doing much else. Loki's gift to him is three hundred and sixty-five days of inter-dimensional podcasts. Fenrir will have his thirst for knowledge and company quenched.

Loki slips through yet another wormhole and arrives at a cave deep within Midgard. This is Jormungandr's home, and the World Serpent is awake and waiting. Like Fenrir, Jormungandr needs stimulation and escapism. Loki sets up a device that will give Jormungandr access to Midgardian entertainment, as he knows his son prefers. They talk about nothing for a long while once Loki is done.

The last place Loki goes to is Niflheim, home to his only daughter. Hel is pleased to see him, and happiness nearly returns her scarred features to a beautiful state. For Hel, he brings puzzles that will stretch her twisted mind to its limits. They play chess and talk and Hel even laughs once. Of all his scattered family, Loki misses his little girl the most.

During Thor's years with Jane, Loki is expected to go to New Mexico with his brother for Midwinter dinner. Jane's children delight him - children in general delight him - and Jane herself is quite bright and a good conversationalist. Before and after her, Loki attends the grand banquet in Asgard and misses his children and wife.

For Loki, Midwinter is strange and painful.


	2. Steve

Steve

Christmas is the time for Steve when the difference in his life experiences becomes painfully obvious to him. He remembers scraping together pennies to buy his parents and Bucky a card each for the holiday. (He also remembers finding the box where Bucky kept his cards and not saying anything about it). Giving is easy for Steve, almost second nature.

Maria teaches him how to receive. She gives him his first box of ornaments the Christmas that they are dating. She gives him late night walks in the snow to look at shop windows without the crowds. She gives him permission to allow Bucky back into his life and into his family, when the family arrives. She gives him a home again.

Christmas is the time when Tony refuses to argue with him on principle, because they are in their own way brothers much like Steve and Bucky are. Steve loves the Stark twins dearly, even if he can't always understand them. He reads to them when he and Maria visit for Christmas and their birthday, and it becomes a tradition as more Avenger-babies make their appearances. They are all little miracles to him, these precious little lives, and his own three are constant reminders of what the Avengers fight for. To Steve, anyway.

He tells everyone that he doesn't need gifts for Christmas, and he's telling the truth. But he opens the ones he gets with joy because they are a sign of love and acceptance. Natasha and Bruce get him something that is both serious and a joke - a near impossible feat - and Tony gives him gadgets like and ereader and a Netflix account. Bucky continues the tradition and gives him a card, one he's drawn himself from a favourite moment of the year.

The true joy of Christmas for Steve is tucking Howie, Zuzu and Einstein into bed on Christmas Eve after watching a movie with them. (Movies are still a new wonderous thing for Steve). He loves cuddling with Maria in Tony and Pepper's smaller living room and just breathing in the scent of her. He can hear Tony and Pepper doing their own thing in the lounge, and knows that everything is good. Being surrounded by family is exactly what he needs.

For Steve, Christmas is different now. More about lights and sounds. But it feels warmer to him, somehow.


	3. Maria

Maria

The halo of candles around the holy family reminds Maria of dinner at her grandmother's house and the accompanying stiffness. They used to get together at six on Christmas Eve at Grandmother's house and socialize with the extended family until eleven thirty, when they would go to Mass. By the time Mass was over, it was after one in the morning, at which point Grandmother would serve dinner back at her house. Her parents let her and her siblings sleep in on Christmas Day, but they were expected back at Grandmother's for dinner at four, no exceptions. At least there weren't many presents to unwrap.

The halo of light around Steve as he looks at shop windows reminds Maria of a dream she had once. His awe is a reminder that Christmas for him wasn't always great, that he grew up during the Depression and being poor meant not having all the gadgets because food and shelter were more important. Still, seeing his face as he looks at he displays warms her to her bones as she stands in the snowy streets of New York.

After their wedding, Steve at Christmas still makes Maria smile. Watching him with Zuzu and Howie on his lap with PJ curled into his side as he reads them Christmas stories from his own childhood is the highlight of her December. It's what she comes home to nearly every night. The love Steve has for their children could light up the District of Columbia. It makes her glad she fell in love with this man, and true miracle, he loves her back.

They spend Christmas in New York. Steve and Tony declare a kind of truce for the holidays and Pepper is nothing if not welcoming. Natalie and Atom play nicely with their cousins, even if they are much younger. Maria gets to spend time with other people who know what it's like to be attached to an Avenger. Still, cuddling with Steve is the best part of staying at Stark Towers.

They go to church twice on Christmas Eve. For Steve, they go to the early Anglican service where children are welcome and the service is fun and upbeat. Then they go to Midnight Mass at the Catholic church for Maria. Zuzu is the best about the two services, but the boys don't mind singing and feel privileged to stay up til midnight on this one night a year. Even when PJ is deployed to India, he still makes time to come to New York for Christmas Eve services.

Christmas Day is devoted to the twins, and that's fine. They were born on Christmas, not their fault, and Pepper throws a family only party for them, no matter how old they get. Christmas happens on Boxing Day, and no one minds because the one time someone did mind - it was Zuzu - Roman Banner Hulked out and reminded everyone that everyone deserves their own birthday to be special.

They migrate back to Washington D.C. for a few days of paperwork before joining the rest of the family in New Mexico for Evior's birthday on the sixth. Maria loves that scarred little girl, and she can tell that the rest of the family does too. They just don't know how to deal with their guilt over what happened to her. Maria can see a rivalry form between PJ and Atom over Evior when PJ is about six. She's glad for her son when it's finally over. She is devastated when there's no longer a reason to go to New Mexico, no significance anymore to January sixth.

Christmas, for Maria, is a time of joy and solemnity.


	4. Thor

Thor

Midwinter arrives, as it does every year for Thor. This year is different, though. This year he sits in his home in Asgard with Jane in his lap, instead of in Asgard's great feasting hall with his friends. He gently caresses her swollen belly, and the baby inside kicks back against her father's hand. The baby could come any day now, and Thor doesn't want to miss it. Loki never missed a single one of his children's births, even helping to bring Jormungandr into the world. The very least Thor can do is be there for Jane when their child comes.

Loki will be here soon. Already, he's a doting uncle and his niece hasn't been born yet. Thor is envious of his brother for the first time. He's nervous about meeting his child, afraid that as much as he loves Jane, the love won't translate to the baby, their child. Thor has never been good with expressing fear, even before Loki's temper tantrum. Loki, he thinks, never was afraid of not loving his children.

The doorbell rings and Jane shifts off his lap so the he can answer the door. It's Sif, bearing gifts and a shy smile. Thor welcomes her warmly to his home. Sif greets Jane with pleasure, offering her the first of the gifts. It's a lopsided baby blanket that Sif obviously made herself. Jane thanks Sif and resumes her seat. Carrying the baby is hard on her petite frame. Thor feels helpless, as he cannot relieve her burden. This is also a first for him.

Loki arrives next, his own gift for Jane and the baby in his hands. A clever mobile shaped liked Ygdrrasil is presented for his niece and a necklace for Jane that is similar to Frigga's. He unabashedly coos over her stomach, assuring her that the baby has moved into birthing position and her wait won't be too much longer. Jane thanks him. Sif tentatively strokes Jane's belly and is rewarded by a solid kick from the baby inside. A look of awe crosses Sif's face.

Hogan chooses then to make an appearance. He brings no gifts - he is not a gift giver - but his presence is soothing. The five of them sit in a circle and tell stories late into the night. Jane retires first, as expected, and Sif and Hogan leave soon after. Loki and Thor talk about fatherhood and what it means to Thor to have his own child. What it meant to Loki when his twins were born.

Only two weeks later, Jane is sweating and screaming her way through her labour. Hogan will not let Thor drink, and Loki informs him that everything is moving swiftly and should be over in a few hours whenever he can be spared from the birthing room. Sif prays. The screaming stops, and a baby's cry is heard. Frigga emerges and tells Thor that he can go in now.

Jane is cradling the baby, exhausted and contented. He sits next to her and she hands him their daughter, their beautiful baby girl. Her kicks are strong, her eyes are blue, and Thor feels a rush of adoration for her. Jane names her Evior, a Scandinavian name, and says that she'll need a birth certificate once they get back to Earth. Thor is too mesmerized to argue.

For Thor, Midwinter was a time of boisterous drinking. Now, there is reverence as a little life blinks up at him from his arms.


	5. Jane

Jane

Somehow, Jane usually missed out on celebrating any of the winter holidays. All the years of schooling and research with barely any downtime had made her forget what it was to just relax with family and put all her work aside for a little while.

And the Avengers family celebrated in style. Midwinter - Thor insisted they call it that - was a fourteen day long event. Loki would come for dinner on the twenty-first, a sort of Uncle Nikolai for her children, and leave them all with thoughtful little gifts. The twenty-second and twenty-third saw Odin, Frigga, Sif, Volstagg, Fandral and Hogan come for their annual visits. They all seemed determined to ignore Evior and Brynja and embarrass Eero the whole time they were there. It set Jane's teeth on edge, but they were Thor's family so she tolerated them. Even if, at this point, she liked Loki better.

The twenty-fourth was a pilgrimage to Washington DC for the annual SHIELD party on the giant ships that Nick Fury was so proud of. The Rogers' kids, the Stark twins and Roman Banner pulled Jane's own children into their games and schemes. Brynja and Howie Rogers usually got thrown together as the youngest two while Evior was pulled into the group made up of Natalie and Atom Stark and Roman. Eero and Suzanne Rogers oscillated between the older and younger kids. Jane stopped worrying when she saw how easily her babies were accepted by their wealthier cousins.

The twenty-fifth took them up to New York for Natalie and Atom's birthday party. It was just the Avengers, and Jane always took the opportunity to get to know the other women in the family. Natasha she could talk to about Brynja's interest in mixed martial arts and how to keep her youngest balanced. Pepper, Jane could swap moments of exasperation with. Jane and Maria talked tech a little bit and having three kids a little bit. Darcy was always good for funny office stories, which Jane could reciprocate with funny conference stories. They talked movies and schools and mentioned hobbies like Jane taking up flameworking and Natasha resuming dance lessons.

Their week in New York was a quiet one, with Jane and Thor taking their children around town to museums and down Fifth Avenue to look at shop windows. Just spending time with her family was soothing to Jane. No papers on the Foster Theory to present, no school emergencies, no last minute date cancellations due to an off-world crisis. Just Jane and Thor and Evior and Eero and Brynja in New York at Christmas.

There's the Stark New Year's Eve Gala to attend and Evior's birthday to celebrate in early January. All of the kids come to New Mexico to attend the party. Jane loves how her daughter's face lights up, even with the acid scars that mar it. The round of celebrations seems to never end. And then it does and Jane cherishes the memories and pictures taken during those fourteen days.

For Jane, being part of the Avengers family adds madness that she didn't even know she was missing.


	6. Nick

Nick

Nick has many regrets in his life. He does not, however, regret assembling the Avengers. Nor does he regret being pulled into the craziness that is the family that the Avengers built out of each other. It's an honour to be included, really, he's sure of that. It's just strange to be part of a family at his age and stage of life.

He does not regret the holiday party he throws five years into the Avengers Initiative. He regrets the damage done to his flying base of operations. He regrets that very much.

The Stark twins are little geniuses, and have been since the day they were born. And Natasha's boy is a born troublemaker with a sweet little smile that melts hearts. Nick is still not sure how they managed it, but he's sure that the three of them are at fault and nothing but an overwhelming amount of evidence will convince him otherwise.

The kids who were mobile were playing tag, the kids who weren't mobile were playing on a quilt under the watchful eyes of Jane and Maria. Clint was supposed to be watching the older children. The adults gathered around to watch an arm wrestling match between Thor and Tony for five minutes, Nick is sure, and suddenly alarms are going off and the ship is going down. Natalie, Atom and Roman are nowhere to be found.

Nick can see the wheels turning in each Avenger's head as they try and figure out how to save their families. It's Pepper who takes action though, finding the twins and interrogating them on what they'd done. Natalie had apparently created a virus and wanted to see what it did. Atom stole Nick's access card - Nick hadn't noticed it was missing - and Roman had gone along to see what wold happen. Evior had refused to participate.

Tony and Natasha brushed pat their offspring and ran to find and fix the problem before they all went down in smoke and flames. Babies Eero and PJ are crying, Jane looks horrified and Nick watches as Bruce turns his son to face their family and tells him, "Look at the pain you're causing the people who love you. People who you have very nearly killed for nothing."

Roman looks ashamed. The twins have the grace to be upset. It wasn't their intention, Nick knows, but the consequences of a childish prank are too big to ignore.

Tony and Natasha fix the problem and destroy the virus. Pepper and Tony take turns telling Natalie and Atom exactly why what they'd done was very-not-good and Natasha scolds her son in Russian. And then the party carries on as if nothing had happened, the helicarrier resuming a good flying altitude. Still, the children are a bit more subdued and they hug Nick a little tighter when they finally return to Washington DC the next morning.

For Nick, Christmas is a time when regrets are not allowed, and every memory is to be cherished.


End file.
